May 31 2008 8:30 pm
REDCAT
REDCAT: Outfitted with a fantastic array of Harry Partch's custom-built microtonal instruments, the ensemble directed by John Schneider performs the composer's complete score of Plectra and Percussion Dances: Satyr-Play Music for Dance Theater -- played live for the first time since the work's premiere was broadcast on radio in 1953. The hourlong triptych comprises "Castor and Pollux -- A Dance for the Twin Rhythms of Gemini," "Ring Around the Moon -- A Dance Fantasm for Here and Now," and "Even Wild Horses -- A Dance for an Absent Drama," with the final segment featuring African and Latin American polyrhythms and settings of Rimbaud's A Season in Hell, sung in French with supertitles. The performance also includes Partch's own introduction to the piece, as heard on Pacifica radio in 1953.


